Central African Republic

The Central African Republic’s transitional parliament should adopt a draft law establishing a Special Criminal Court, 19 Central African and International groups said today. Such a court would speed up justice for victims of atrocities in the country.

The interim parliament for the Central African Republic is about to consider a bill to establish a Special Criminal Court to complement the work of the International Criminal Court in the country and speed up justice for victims of atrocities since the current conflict began three years ago. This is why the bill needs and deserves support from members of the transition parliament.

The transfer of a Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an important opportunity to achieve a measure of justice for crimes committed by the rebel group, Human Rights Watch said. Dominic Ongwen arrived in the Netherlands on January 21, 2015, to face charges of four counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity committed in 2004 in northern Uganda.

The United States, Uganda, and the Central African Republic should ensure the prompt transfer of a rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In 2005, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Dominic Ongwen for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

On January 6, 2015, US military advisers supporting the African Union Regional Task Force in the Central African Republic received the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander Dominic Ongwen into custody. The United States, Uganda – the primary contributor to the AU task force – and the Central African Republic should ensure the prompt transfer of Ongwen, believed to be about 34 years old, to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In 2005, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Ongwen for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

On the second anniversary of a rebellion that plunged the Central African Republic into bloody upheaval, Human Rights Watch today released a multimedia feature on several research missions undertaken in CAR in 2014.